Earl's Absolution
by Hobsonphile
Summary: OLD STORY #1: A tag for "Snow Angels", originally published in 2000. An EE/TBAA crossover.


Earl's Absolution  
  
A Touched By An Angel/Early Edition Vignette by Stephanie Souders  
  
Unseen, Andrew watched Gary hesitate for a moment at the doorway, sadness and worry flickering across his gentle features. Then, seemingly rediscovering his resolve, he put on his baseball cap and disappeared into the frigid night.  
  
The Angel of Death turned his face upwards and squinted as an icy finger of wind stung his eyes. The snow had picked up again- large flakes drifted through the hole in the ceiling where a skylight had once been. Andrew then looked down at his assignment. Gary had left his coat draped across Earl's frame, but Earl still shivered from exposure. The angel could see the human's heart beating rapidly- could see Earl's blood pressure dropping- and knew he didn't have much time.  
  
Crouching down, Andrew touched Earl on the forehead. "Earl?"  
  
There was another gust of wind and Earl trembled under his hand before slowly opening his eyes. "I thought...I told you to leave..." he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Andrew was momentarily confused before he remembered Gary. "No, Earl, Gary has left," he said reassuringly. "My name is Andrew, and I'm here to take you to God. I'm an angel."  
  
At those words, a glow began to emanate from Andrew's blond hair and light beige suit that seemed to fill the entire room with a shimmering gold light. Earl's eyes widened in understanding- and then just as quickly clouded over with confusion. "No..." he mumbled quietly. "That can't be... Surely there must be some mistake...I shot a man..."  
  
"There is no mistake, Earl," Andrew replied, his expression serious. The angel reached out and squeezed Earl's hand. He could never quite understand why human beings were always so unwilling to accept God's forgiveness. "When you reached out to God that night, He instantly gave you absolution. There was no more retribution for you to pay than to allow God to work in your life- and you have." Two tears spilled from Earl's eyes as Andrew continued. "Earl, God loves you and He's so proud of the sacrifices you have made for other people- especially the one you made tonight. You have given a lost soul a second chance. And," Andrew added, touching Earl's chest with his hand, "your gift is not yet complete."  
  
Earl choked back a sob. "My heart?"  
  
"A miracle is about to unfold here that not even your friend Gary Hobson can anticipate."  
  
Earl closed his eyes again. "The light..." he breathed. "It's so warm...is this what heaven is like?"  
  
Andrew smiled broadly, wrapping his arm around Earl's shoulders. "Earl, this is not even a tenth of what heaven is like. If you'll follow me, you'll find out for your self."  
  
The light in the room began to shine even more brilliantly until Earl himself was enveloped in it. The human only barely registered that the paramedics had finally arrived before his heart beat one last time and fell still.  
  
***** Many people who lived on the streets of Chicago attended Earl's funeral. Gary, who stood some distance away from the service, recognized some from the alley where he first met Earl the day of the blizzard, and others for reasons he couldn't quite place. After three years with the paper, many of his rescues were beginning to blur together. His failures, however, remained stark and vivid.  
  
Gary looked down at a fairly new gravestone standing nearby, his stomach suddenly lurching when he read the name- Jeremiah.  
  
It had been almost a year since Jeremiah's death- why did his heart still skip a beat when he remembered?  
  
Unbidden, that day on the rooftop flashed into his consciousness. Gary could see himself clutching Jeremiah's face in his hands- could see the terror in the transient's eyes.  
  
And the trust.  
  
He could see him slipping...falling...  
  
The scene changed. Now Gary could see Earl standing under the skylight...could see the skylight crashing down... could see Earl shivering... and the blood...  
  
"Count the living, Gary."  
  
Gary closed his eyes, willing his heart to stop pounding.  
  
After a moment, he felt somebody tap his shoulder. Startled, Gary's eyes flew open and he turned to find a man only slightly older than him staring at his face, open hazel eyes lit with concern. The stranger was dressed in tattered layers, his blond hair peeking out from under a knit cap. "Are you alright?" the man asked.  
  
"Um, yeah," Gary replied, chewing his lip and shifting his weight, uncomfortable under the stranger's oddly knowing gaze.  
  
"Do you ever think about how things work out sometimes?" Gary responded with a quizzical look. "I mean, do you ever think about how God can take a tragedy and use it to save a soul?"  
  
Truth was, Gary had been thinking about it ever since he read the article about Mr. Mourning's transplant- and his donor. He pulled the paper out of his back pocket and fingered it pensively, as if the answers to all his questions could be found there. "Are you here for Earl?"  
  
The man smiled. "Yes. Earl was a good man- but a haunted one. There was always that small glimmer of guilt in his eyes- actually, his eyes looked a lot like yours did just a minute ago."  
  
Gary looked down, avoiding the stranger's eyes. "I was with him before he died," he finally said after a moment of silence. "I tried to get to him before the collapse... but I didn't make it."  
  
The man reached out and touched Gary's arm. "I don't know if this will be any comfort to you, but I know Earl's in heaven right now with his Father." Gary's gaze met the stranger's, his dark eyes filled with skepticism and hope all at once. "And I know he found absolution." The next line was spoken just barely above a whisper. "Perhaps it's time you found your own.  
  
"The Father knows you feel responsible for Earl's death. And He also knows how confused and overwhelmed you sometimes feel about your own responsibilities. But these responsibilities are yours not because He expects you to know what to do all the time- the only being who does is the One Who Is Most High." The man squeezed Gary's arm, his eyes peering into Gary's with passionate intensity. "They are yours because you have always tried your hardest to do good in this world. That's what really matters."  
  
Gary pulled away slightly, bewildered at the stranger's words. Who was this man? "God loves you, Gary Hobson." The stranger's face was profoundly peaceful, almost as if he had first hand knowledge of the love of which he spoke. "And He wants you to trust your own heart- and Him."  
  
Gary turned his back to the stranger and pressed his gloved fingers against his eyes in an effort to clear his vision. Then something suddenly occurred to him, and he pivoted on his heel to face the man- but he had already disappeared.  
  
"Hey!" he called out to the empty air. "How did you know my name? Who are you?"  
  
Two people passing by the cemetery paused and looked at Gary as if he had grown an extra head. He blushed and stuttered what he hoped was a sane- sounding greeting before he spun around, hoping to catch the stranger strolling down a nearby sidewalk.  
  
There was no sign of him anywhere.  
  
A soft coo finally pulled Gary out of his reverie- at his feet, a snow white dove regarded him with an eerily wise expression before taking flight, disappearing over the treetops.  
  
The End. 


End file.
